The U.K.’s Rail Accident Investigation Branch is calling for new level-crossing safeguards after an 11-year-old was struck and killed by a passenger train at Bourneview footpath crossing near Kenley, south London, in January.
In a report, investigators said the child entered the passive crossing around 8:03 a.m. on Jan. 23 as a train approached at about 50 mph.
The driver sounded the horn and applied the emergency brake. However, the train reached the crossing before the pedestrian could move out of the way.
RAIB concluded the pedestrian likely did not perceive the risk because they were distracted by a mobile phone. The crossing lacked active warnings, a probable causal factor, and the hazardous area was not made sufficiently obvious to users, a possible factor.
Investigators also cited limited access to level-crossing safety information for schools and parents. They said Network Rail’s risk-assessment guidance did not account for the different risk profile of younger users.
The report issued three recommendations, including that school curriculum setters work with rail infrastructure managers to deliver targeted, locally relevant rail-safety lessons for pupils of all ages. Two recommendations to Network Rail, working with the Rail Safety and Standards Board, call for making danger zones at crossings more conspicuous — particularly for potentially distracted users — and for assessing whether younger people warrant different risk-mitigation approaches.
RAIB also flagged a learning point urging assessors to consider interim steps to warn users at specific crossings where standards cannot be fully met and to document those decisions.
Be the first to comment